The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in India has recently taken a monumental step towards fostering a circular economy. How? By licensing an affordable Li-ion battery recycling technology to nine recycling industries and emerging start-ups. This ground-breaking technology was born out of a project under the “Centre of Excellence on E-waste management”, run by the Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Hyderabad. The government of Telangana and industry partner M/S Greenko Energies Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, were key collaborators in this endeavor. This initiative forms a part of the Mission Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) under the “Promote circularity campaign.”
Key Features of the Recently Invented Recycling Technology
The newly developed recycling technology for Li-ion batteries serves to efficiently process and retrieve valuable materials from used batteries. The first step involves immersing the batteries in a solution designed to extract crucial metals. This liquid aids in segregating and extracting metals including Lithium (Li), Cobalt (Co), Manganese (Mn), and Nickel (Ni), yielding over 95% recovery of these elements as corresponding oxides or carbonates with nearly 98% purity. These metals are then purified further for subsequent reuse in new batteries or other beneficial applications. By recycling the batteries in this way, we lessen the requirement for mining fresh resources, thereby contributing to a more sustainable environment. This technology thus plays a vital role in encouraging a circular economy.
Understanding Li-ion Batteries
A lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery is a type of rechargeable cell that uses an intercalated lithium compound as one of the electrode materials, contrasting the metallic lithium employed in a non-rechargeable lithium battery. A Li-ion battery comprises an electrolyte, facilitating ionic movement, and two electrodes making up a lithium-ion battery cell. Lithium ions move from the negative to the positive electrode during discharge and vice versa while charging. Li-ion batteries are predominantly used in electronic devices, telecommunications, aerospace, and various industrial applications. Furthermore, Li-ion battery technology is favored as the primary power source for electric and hybrid vehicles due to its efficiency. However, they do have their drawbacks, including long charging times, potential safety hazards, and high manufacturing costs.
More About Lithium
Lithium (Li), also known as ‘White gold’ owing to its soaring demand for rechargeable batteries, is a soft, silvery-white metal. It can be extracted via different methods depending on the nature of the deposit – typically either through solar evaporation of large brine pools or hard-rock extraction of ore. This crucial element forms a major component of electrochemical cells utilized in batteries for electric vehicles, laptops, mobile phones, and more. It’s also employed in thermonuclear reactions and in creating alloys with aluminum and magnesium to enhance their strength and decrease their weight. The primary lithium reserves globally are found in Chile, Australia, and Argentina, forming what’s referred to as the Lithium Triangle.
Lithium Reserves in India
In India, an initial survey disclosed estimated lithium reserves of 14,100 tonnes in a minor patch of land surveyed in Southern Karnataka’s Mandya district. Other potential lithium-rich sites include mica belts in Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh; pegmatite belts in Odisha and Chhattisgarh; and Rann of Kutch in Gujarat. Interestingly, a previous year’s question in the UPSC Civil Services Examination tested aspirants’ knowledge about the lightest and heaviest metals, which are lithium and osmium, respectively.
